Chromatic scales are an essential skill to master for any keyboardist. Within an octave range, there are 12 notes. This makes sextuplets work nicely for building chromatic speed (6 + 6 = 12). In this particular exercise, your two “target” notes are F-natural and B-natural. Every sextuplet run begins on one of these two notes. If you can visualize these two aiming spots, your accuracy will greatly increase.
When first starting, practice slowly and ensure that you are striking the correct notes. As you gain more confidence in your accuracy, gradually begin to push the tempo. Once you get to the exercise up to a bright tempo, you may want to repeat the last two measures additional times for added endurance.
For the extra motivated, you can transpose the exercise and learn it in all 12 keys.
This is a fun exercise for keyboard percussion that focuses on the “doubles rudiments” of four-mallet playing. I regularly use it with the high school where I teach. During marching season, our front ensemble uses it to work on double vertical strokes (measures 1-4) and double lateral strokes (measures 5-end).
Additional stroke types are used for transitions—single alternating strokes (ex: measure 5, beat 4) and triple lateral strokes (ex: measure 6, beat 4). These short occurrences frequently happen in actual musical situations, so it’s good practice for being able to switch quickly between stroke types.
Take care to achieve a full sound on every note. The double verticals should strike exactly together, and the double laterals should have a clear, consistent sound. Make a clear difference between the accented and non-accented notes at the end. Do not get sloppy on the non-accented notes. Keep the continuous 16th notes precisely in time.
When you can play this entire exercise with great consistency of sound, you will have a pretty solid grasp of the fundamental “doubles” strokes of four-mallet keyboard percussion. Enjoy!
Originally written for xylophone, this fun little exercise comes from George Hamilton Green’s Advanced Instructor for Xylophone. This book is not as well-known as his more famous Instruction Course for Xylophone, but it is still quite good. (Both books are excellent and highly recommended.)
This particular exercise focuses on double stops (both hands playing at the same time), and the harmonic and rhythmic structure come from ragtime xylophone playing. The challenge of this exercise is to play a repeating two-note pattern with the left hand while playing a three-note pattern with the right hand. On the final two beats of measures 2 and 4, the right hand plays a four-note pattern that closely matches the movements of the left hand. The difficulty comes in transitioning back to the three-note pattern in measure 3 (and measure 1 on the repeat).
On the surface, the exercise looks simple, but it can provide an interesting coordinative challenge. Once you get it down, it’s really fun to play. As George Hamilton Green would advise, make sure you take it slowly at first. Keep your mallets close to the keyboard, make sure they both strike at exactly the same time, and make sure you are 100% accurate in all of your notes.
I teach at Paris High School in Paris, Texas. This past year, we added a lithophone to our keyboard percussion section. Sometimes called a stonophone, this unique instrument is handmade from slate, and it spans a 3-octave range. There are only a few individual manufacturers online who make such instruments; it is a pretty unique niche. Our lithophone was custom created by Jim Doble at Elemental Designs. He did great work, and his prices are very reasonable.
This video is just a short improvisation to showcase the instrument’s range and timbre. Since this video was recorded, we have had a frame and resonators added. While the instrument has a very rich tone, it is somewhat quieter (and more fragile!) than a marimba or vibraphone. You can’t strike it with the same velocity on the louder dynamic ranges. When using it for concert performances, it works best to have it amplified.
We are primarily going to use it to substitute for bass marimba parts in percussion ensembles. It’s about a tenth the cost of a 5.0-octave marimba, so it’s a very affordable option for schools and organizations on a tight budget.
The lower octave is not quite as resonant as the upper octaves. We discovered that the instrument sounds really good when parts are played in octaves. (This creates some interesting arrangement considerations, but the result has been well worth it.) The higher octave helps to emphasize the fundamental pitch, and the lower octave brings out the rich, bassy tone underneath.
I decided to post this in order to showcase the great workmanship that can be found by custom instrument manufacturers. There are a number of talented people who specialize in custom-made marimbas, xylophones, lithophones, and other instruments. Also, I want to encourage percussion directors and band directors to think outside the box a bit when it comes to instrument purchases. The mainstream manufacturers create some wonderful products, and they are certainly going to be the primary “go to” sources. However, with a little creative thinking, you can also get some very colorful textures in your percussion section by exploring what’s out there.
For the extra adventurous, you might even want to have your students build their own instruments. This could create a deeper sense of ownership among the whole section when they have put their own time into creating the instrument upon which they play.
How about you? Have you had any experience with custom-made instruments? Have you used other instruments not mentioned above? Share your stories and thoughts in the comments section below.
Every week we endeavor to bring you fun and interesting exercises on different percussion instruments. Some weeks we will have instrument-specific exercises that are intended more for individual practice.
This week, however, all of the exercises will be playable by all instruments at the same time. These can serve as fun exercises to play with your drum line or a percussion friend on two (or three or four) different instruments. Yesterday’s snare drum exercise focused on the single paradiddle and the three variations of shifting accents—which I call the inverted paradiddle, single mill, and alternating quad.
This exercise for two-mallet keyboard percussion uses the same sticking with ascending and descending scale patterns. As an added challenge, it quickly cycles through all twelve major keys. (Be careful on the final measure!) Enjoy!
Check back tomorrow! The remaining instruments to be featured this week will be: marching tenors, two-person bass drum splits, and timpani.
